Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Here are answers to some common questions about EarthLink spamBlocker. If you have questions about using spamBlocker with TotalAccess or another email program, see our Frequently Asked Questions for Windows and Mac OS FAQ pages.

When spamBlocker is screening my incoming email, will strangers be reading my messages?

No. spamBlocker uses software that evaluates email electronically to determine whether or not it's Known spam or Suspect Email. Nobody but you will ever read your email.

Is there a chance that spamBlocker will intercept messages that I want to receive?

That depends on the level of spam protection you choose. With Known spam Blocking, the default level, it's very rare for spamBlocker to intercept valid email messages. However, if you activate Suspect Email Blocking, spamBlocker will redirect a valid message to your Suspect Email folder unless you have added the sender's email address or the sender's Company (Domain) to your Address Book.

Will spamBlocker intercept any important messages from EarthLink?

No. Certain email messages will always appear in your Inbox, regardless of your spamBlocker settings. These include Allowed Sender Requests and summaries sent by spamBlocker; most "bounced" email notices generated when you send messages to invalid email addresses; and messages from EarthLink regarding your account, Customer Support, and EarthLink products and services (you can stop receiving messages about products and services by following the unsubscribe instructions in those emails).

I'm going to be away from home and plan to activate email forwarding or vacation messaging for my email address. Will spamBlocker interfere with those features?

If you activate email forwarding, all messages sent to your email address will bypass spamBlocker (and your Blocked Sender List) completely. In other words, all incoming messages, including spam, will be sent to your forward address. However, if you select the option to leave copies of forwarded messages on the mail server, your spamBlocker settings will apply to those copies. If you're forwarding your email to another EarthLink email address, you can activate spamBlocker on that email address to filter out spam.

If you activate vacation messaging, the only people who will receive your automatic vacation reply will be those whom you normally allow to send you email. People on your Blocked Sender List (and, if you've activated Suspect Email Blocking, those who are not in your Address Book) will not receive your vacation reply.

Does the email stored in my Known spam and Suspect Email folders count toward my email storage limit?

Only the messages in your Suspect Email folder count toward your storage limit. The messages in your Known spam folder do not count toward your limit.

How can I import all my contacts into my Web Mail Address Book when I have Suspect Email Blocking enabled? I don't want to retype them all manually.

Use Web Mail's Import Address Book feature to import a list of contacts.

I activated Suspect Email Blocking and added a person (or company) to my Address Book. Why is spamBlocker still intercepting messages from that person (or company)?

Make sure the sender is not on your Blocked Sender List.

I'm receiving email from a person (or company) who is not in my Address Book. How do I keep these messages out of my Inbox?

First, make sure Suspect Email Blocking is activated in spamBlocker Settings. spamBlocker will not use your Address Book to determine who can send you mail unless Suspect Email Blocking is enabled (it's not enabled by default). If you're not sure how Suspect Email Blocking works, read more about the different levels of spam protection.

Also, check the email address in the message's From field. The spammer may have forged it and placed your email address there. If your own address is in your Address Book, spamBlocker will allow such messages to reach your Inbox. You can prevent this by removing your email address from your Address Book.

I removed a person from my Blocked Sender List. Why is spamBlocker still intercepting messages from that person?

Removing a sender from the Blocked Sender List does not necessarily mean you will begin receiving email from that person in your Inbox. If you have Suspect Email Blocking enabled, spamBlocker will redirect messages from that sender to the Suspect Email folder until you add the sender's email address to your Address Book.

I turned spamBlocker off completely, but email from some people still isn't reaching my Inbox. What am I doing wrong?

The senders' email addresses are probably on your Blocked Sender List. Even if you turn off spamBlocker, your Blocked Sender List remains active as long as it contains email addresses. If you want to receive email from those senders, remove their addresses from the Blocked Sender List.

I keep receiving Allowed Sender Requests from a person I don't want to receive email from. How can I stop these requests?

The next time you receive an Allowed Sender Request from that person, click the appropriate button or link in that request to block email from that sender. This will add the person's email address to your Blocked Sender List. Any future email from that sender will be deleted before it reaches any of your email folders, and spamBlocker will not send any automatic replies. Learn more about accepting Allowed Sender Requests.

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